Non-Profit Projects - Seneca Army Depot

Seneca Army Depot

Romulus and Varick, New York

An approximately 3,000-acre portion of the former Seneca Army Depot was established by the U.S. Army as an ordnance storage, supply, and demolition facility in 1941. It was closed in 2000, after being designated a Superfund site. Following remediation the property will be conveyed to the Seneca County Industrial Development Agency, who has decided to dispose of the property. The local chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has an interest in acquiring portions of the property and engaged LandVest to determine the value.

The property is “improved” with about 159 reinforced concrete igloo munitions storage structures. Because the perimeter has been fenced for the past 75± years, the property is now home to what has been described as the world’s largest herd of white deer (a natural variation of white-tailed deer). The National Audubon Society has also designated this property as an Important Bird Area.

LandVest mapped the features and constraints of the property components of interest to TNC (including contaminated and use-restricted areas). The team also developed estimates of market value and contingent market value for each component, based on an assessment of utility, the cost of adaptive re-use of the igloo structures and the impact of stigma associated with environmental contamination. This information will allow TNC to submit informed bids for strategic parts of the property.